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Biofilm in the Food Industry

"Microbial Attachment and Biofilm Formation: A New Problem for the Food Industry", an independent study by the US Institute of Food Technology, looked at bacterial attachments on both meat and food contact surfaces in the processing environment.

It was found that Pseudomonas formed attachments within 30 minutes at 25^oC and 2 hours at 4^oC in a constantly moving milk flow. Listeria attached within 20 minutes on stainless steel. Investigators found that attached Listeria and other micro-organisms were 150 to 3000 times more resistant to hypochlorous acid (pH 7) than unattached cells. The overall work suggests that proper frequent cleaning, followed by disinfection, is the most effective procedure in combating biofilm. Chlorine dioxide, the active ingredient in SCD, was one of the most effective compounds against biofilm, while chlorine, iodophors and quaternary ammonium compounds (neutral) were least effective.